Allegations Against Psychiatrist Graham Burrows
A 7News special investigation has uncovered a major medical scandal, with serious allegations against one of Melbourne’s most senior psychiatrist Graham Burrows. He is the President of the Mental Health Foundation of Australia also President of the Mental Health Foundation (Victorian branch) and former president of the Alzheimer’s Association of Victoria. From 1981-1985 he served as Regional Vice-President Oceania Regional and Life Member of the World Federation of Mental Health.
Graham Burrows has published the Handbook of General Hospital Psychiatry and has contributed chapters to approximately 190 other scientific books. He serves on the editorial boards of 30 international and Australian journals. It sounds like Graham Burrows’s a man on a mission…but who’s mission? As chairman of the Mental Health Foundation it is known that he accepted funding on behalf of the Foundation from AstraZeneca, Servier and Pfizer.
How did it all begin?
The Mental Health Foundation of Australia was born in July 1981when five people (Dr Graham Dene Burrows, Graeme Angus, Anne Thomson, the Reverend Alan Jones and Albert Moore) gathered at the Department of Psychiatry at Melbourne University to form the Foundation.
The MHFA was begun as a charitable organization. Graham Burrows and his four friend wanted to draw attention to what psychiatry called ‘the nation’s rapidly mounting mental health problem’. I’m sure this merry little band could also see that a charitable organization was (is) a lucrative business with lots of perks as long as one kept up the spin of disinformation to both the public and the Government. And much of their reasoning was true. Certainly there were [and are still today] an inadequacy of mental health care due to cost cutting exercises by the Government that had resulted in closing mental health hospitals in favor of [underfunded] community care and pharmaceutical medication.
The MHFA quickly came to be considered a ‘peak body’ and defined one of it’s fundamental aims as: “To encourage and promote mental health at a personal and social level according to such values as justice, equality and humaneness”. But as we can see from the news on channel 7 there is a palpable difference in the attitudes of a great many of Graham Burrows’s patients and certainly with this type of exposure there will be a greater awareness within the community.
My conclusion is this in terms of Graham Burrows is that he is not the only rotten apple in the barrel. He’s not the only megalomaniac with a bad case of, “ look at me – I’m God”. I could name two or three dozen others just like him. The two that come to mind are Patrick McGorry and Ian Hickie.
Psychiatrist Graham Burrows
Here are just some of the [very raw] comments I found online…let their voices be heard.
Prof Burrows decision to start me on medication started a snowball effect that ruined my life for 4 years. I had an eating disorder, was under-weight and suffering psychosis directly from malnutrition. I was put on a ridiculously high dose of Schizophrenia medication along with sleeping tablets and anxiety tablets, before I had even been properly assessed by him that he continued to increase while I was under his care. My mum fought so hard to get me off the medication as what I needed was gentle, caring treatment for the eating disorder, re-feeding and understanding. The medication turned me into a zombie and I could barely function. This then gave them permission to say I was mentally unwell, and I was put on and off many medications for way too long, which knocked both my mind and body around immensly. I finally was taken off medication 1 year ago and my life feels like it has just started, life is now fantastic. And as my mum says, Burrows ego arrives 5 minutes before he does.
And…
“Dr. Burrows is an arrogant, mindless idiot of the highest order. Not only did he WRONGLY DIAGNOSE ME WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA when I was suffering a psychosis, as a result of severe malnutrition… he put me on a ridiculously high dose of schizophrenic medication- FAR exceeding any amount that a person of my height and weight should have been taking… I was an eighteen year old girl and I was taking quadruple the dose of the adult males in the clinic!! The medication turned me into a dribbling zombie, but he kept UPPING THE DOSE because he couldn’t understand why it wasnt workng… HINT… maybe because I DIDNT HAVE SCHIZOPHRENIA!?! This high dose resulted in me having my first grand mal seizure. He should be out of practise. He is an absolute fool, an arrogant, unkind, unempathetic, heartless man”.
And…
“Throughout the 1990s, Dr Burrows was the public face of the Australian False Memory Association. For years, Dr Burrows has promoted the false notion that many women with histories of sexual abuse are, in fact, liars and fantasists. He subsequently wrote a character reference for another psychiatrist, who was also a Board Member of the Australian False Memory Association, who was struck off for having a sexual relationship with a patient who subsequently committed suicide. Dr Burrows defence of people accused of sexual offences raises serious questions about his credibility and professionalism”.
And…
“Nasty, small minded old man. Of all the doctors i have seen Burrows really takes the cake. Thank the gods that he has been given the boot from Austin Hospital. This foolish old man thinks that just because he can stick a few certificates on his wall, that he is a competant Dr. I had to have a medical report written by him for a Work Care claim. He charged almost $786.00 for less than half a page of nonsensicle dribble. I pity any person that happens to be unfortunate enough to be placed under his so called care. Beware of this man. Try every other doctor you can before you even think about making an appointment with this evil little man. His license needs to be revoked and it is entirely possible that he himself requires treatment for a Schizo-effective Narsosistic Personality Disorder. He needs to be questioned as to his intent when dealing with Mental Illness. His lack of Empathy, Sympathy and Understanding is well known amongst his colleagues. He needs treatment himself”.
And…
“Amaazed that he can be so rude and lack empathy to his patients. When questioned about drugs,he cannot cope with it, as b/c he is a professor no one should dare question him as to what he says. Reasuring to see that Iam not the only one he has been so judgemental, calling names etc and so very rude and makes his pts feel toatlly lacking in self esteem and any likley hood in getting better unless taking, handfuls of addictive drugs.Once he has you. he wontlet you go and just maybe he continues to destroy you”.
And…
“I find it scary that this man is still able to practice as a psychiatrist. It needs to be public knowledge that Graham Burrows has ruined many peoples lives. He gives out drugs constantly, you would have to wonder if he is getting paid commission from the pharmacutical companies. Just dont go to Dr Burrows. He is very bad person. And going by this board, has hurt alot of people. And Graham if you are reading this, maybe you need to go take a look at yourself and reaccess your motives and take a long hard look at what you have done to people. Maybe you could apologise to people whose lives you have ruined”.
And…
“This man is perhaps the most arrogant professional i have ever met in the mental health field. i found him to be mysoginistic and to be completely therepeutically unskilled in his preparedness to cross boundaries. no doubt he knows about medication, but i question his understanding of human behaviours. he lacks humility and actually boasts that he is arrogant”!
And…
“I seriously wonder how an obesessive compulsive can be diagnosing patients and deciding their course of treatment when he needs to sort out his own headspace. He’s also rude and very possessive of the seats in his waiting area if other patients sit near his suite he clears them away claiming that they are his seats!. This guy has so many issues that he is not fit to treat anyone. I would also suggest that before he diagnoses someone with a schizoaffective disorder, he should sit back and think how a mother feels about being separated from her year-old child. I would take out anyone who tried to separate me from my kids and from what I could see, the woman’s attitude was reactive to the situation. Burrows has no empathy. He has his own issues to deal with, so don’t expect him to have time for yours”!
And…
“Like many of you i was unfortunate enough to have Graham burrows as my doctor. He was rude, arrogant, denegrated me and my family, prescribed me excessive amounts of addictive drugs and above all treated me like i had no hope of recovery or a normal life when infact since iv stopped seeing him my life is greater than it was before i got sick. He is cruel and hurtful to those people who desperatly come to him for help. He is a money hungry, self righteous man who should NOT be working in mental health. STAY AWAY FROM THIS DOCTOR”.
And…
“I saw Graeme Burrows for 3 years. He prescribed an addictive drug and when I queried taking it for such a long time he told me it didn’t matter as would be on them for the rest of my life.WRONG> I changed Drs. and got off the medication. This man is a professor and AO, HE IS VERY HIGHLY REGARDED BECAUSE HE CONVINCES ALL AND SUNDRY THAT HE IS JUST ONE STEP BEHIND MOTHER TERESA BUT IS JUST ABOUT TO PUT HIS FOOT ON HER VEIL”.
And…
“One of the worst professionals I’ve ever been to… completely lacks empathy or human connection. Without giving away too many details, I can say that my health (both emotional and physical) were greatly saved by cutting him out of my treatment team… he treats patients like lab rats”.
And…
“Dr Graham Burrows is a someone who believes because he is a Professor he is above everyone. If you go and see this doctor it is unlikely you will be helped. He may write you out a prescription for a drug of addiction to shut you up or you may spend your time being spoken down to. I hve spoken to many, many people who have come out worse after been treated by this so called “doctor”. He wrongly diagnoses people, refuses to listen and is just damn right arrogant. All this doctor did for me was give me drugs, wrongly diagose me and took my money. To Graham Burrows we are not his patients. We are his customer”.
I eagerly await the next installment of this saga and can only hope that the voices of mental health patients and the community will be heard and a [transparent] inquiry will be held in the very near future.
Please add your voice to theirs and share your story with others.
12 Responses to “Allegations Against Psychiatrist Graham Burrows”
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I worked as an office volunteer several times a week for 2 full years at the Victorian Mental Health Foundation in Richmond a decade ago.
Ah! It is what could call “a Prof.Burrows’ play thing vehicle” that continues to be of psrticular good use, mainly for the sake of his own public profile credibility. You may fairly ask , are my following comments to be therefore taken, as being totally impartial? To help you there: I state that I have (however fortunate) never have had, to personally call on the services of this particular part of the medical field. Now I will let you the reader, be that judge.
I came to that particular volunteering position at M.H.A ( through making a simple random choice of the possible volunteer options), then advertised as available in my area. What I first found surprising, was this so called ‘peak Mental Health body’ fully occupying, an expensive sized two storey building on Richmond’s Church Street. Containg tons of empty partitioned offices, including a massive board-room, and just one full regular staff person – the paid manager. The size of the premises, was clearly a gross financial waste. Yet here M.H.A was, simultaneously going about : eagerly seeking both public donations and being supported by Government grants. If the manager ever left the office durng working hour periods to carry on ‘other so called M.H.A interested business’ – at times, quite regularly – it was then left to us volunteers, to handle ALL incoming phone calls.
Being what M.H.A supposedly represents: it naturally attracts a few touch & go ‘life-line’ type calls. We, as volunteers in most cases, had no trace of expertise or qualification, whatsoever – to handle such calls. Imagine then, the possible ramifications – if any legal investigation ever took place, had such a call ever gone ‘terribly wrong’. What an unconscionable situation area, in which to place well meaning volunteers! Some of the other volunteers, I did notice, were recruited from Centrelink on ‘office work programs’. Just one or two others were there, getting ‘credits’ as a part of their Course work experience towards a later paid Mental Health career. I witnessed their genuine personal frustration – all these people were getting no real experience or benefit whatsoever, from M.H.A. As for any typical Office staff briefings …non existent! Simply, they were left to become bored at times, with no directed work to do. Being blameless: all some could sanely do to pass the time, was to read the daily newspapers. I contend their services were being abused and exploited. When members of the public requested Mental Health Foundation help advice information, they were sent out perhaps, a couple of printed slim useless uninformative brochures. If they then really insisted for more, they got – well out of date information – procduced via piles of old photocopies, found in some disarranged filing cabinets. When M.H.A handled the yearly Vic Govt Health Week functions each year while I was there, I can state it was a complete schmozzle. Finally, one day at M.H.A,- seeing the rudderless and non-consequential nature of what it was achieving or proported to be, I exploded and told the manager “I do not know what the F..K I am doing here”. Then I walked out the door, for good.
How silly and ridiculous M.H,A was, as I realise, reflecting back . A so -called Foundation to promote lessening of stress, yet within its own walls… it was busy generating it. I saw the rising stress levels being generated on other people, present . Worse still, that it was from an organisation that tragically PRETENDS to help those, needing mental – health help. All I found M.H.A did, was in fact go about duping the public and Victorian Government, from giving much needed resources elsewhere where it would provide…. real Mental Health benefits.
The final M.H.A hypocritical upshot, for me : last year, out of sheer curiosity, I checked the M.H.A website. To my amazement I found that they were promoting their then upcoming Annual M.H.A Fundraising Ball. The venue…. the Melbourne Crown Casino Ballroom !!! It leads to only one possible fair conclusion. That Prof.Burrows and the rest of his M.H.A cohorts, given their position ‘starring under all those tacky glitz Casino chandeliers’ must have no sense – what moral or social shame, is. In such circumstances, though somewhat ironically – gleefully ‘following the money where it appears to be’. At the same time, being so incredibly crass and insensitive. Apparently not wanting to see the regular connection seen, between peoples’ unaffordable gambling losses and that of forms of mental depression and illness, walk together hand in hand. Or perhaps ring a bell to them? I think not.
I agree with what people are saying. I was under his care at the Austin for anxiety and was prescribed large doses of anti psychotics! i was always drowsy and hazy, it left me feeling tired and cloudy. I do not have psychosis and never have. I did NOT require this medication. EVERYONE in the Austin at this time was on the same drug. It was like guinea pigs in a lab trial. Burrows should be ashamed of himself. He belittles people, drugs them, over charges and expects to be treated like a God- which he is very far from. A class action should take place and he should be made accountable for his actions.
Reading all the experiences shared by so many fills me with relief and validity that I am not alone in the experience that I endured with this pathetic excuse for a professional. It also saddens me that so many other people endured it as well. As with all of us who saw him, we were unwell. However this does not make us liars. It does not make us delusional. It does not put our credibility up for question. It made us vulnerable. And this man took advantage of that. I may have been too unwell then to find my voice and speak up, but I am very well and healthy on all levels now (no thanks to him), and strong enough to voice the over-prescription of my medication, the arrogance and self consumed manner in which he spoke of himself for over half the session, and the completely inappropriate and disturbing obsession in his questioning regarding sexual fantasies & experiences. The end of the session neared, I broached his advice to address the issue in question (to which I was referred for), and his reply was nothing short of disgusting. His reply exacerbated my condition. I returned to my GP and advised her to NEVER refer another patient to this psychiatrist, particularly if the patient was a female. I hope that this poor excuse for a human being gets deregistered and is prevented from damaging any more vulnerable patients. Of course he is a renowned psychiatrist who is THE only cosultant for the MIMS which, as mentioned in previous comments above somehow equates with being God. If you are unsure of this, just ask him. He’ll tell you! Delusions of Grandeur perhaps??
What is amazing is that no media other than brave Channel 7 News Melbourne is running the story about this man. it is radio silnce when this should be a national outrage as this man has advised our government, while pocketring drug company money. All of his utterances are completely compromised. The medical profession all close ranks to protect one of their own. he needs to be sued, because the medical board and RANZCP are toothless tigers. The government need to ditch any single person with drug company connections who is advising them.
I worked with Prof Burrows decades ago in the private mental health system. He had a psychiatric label for all clients,even those who were having normal grief/stress reactions. He regularly over-medicated clients with various psychiatric drugs, when stress reduction and psychotherapy would often be more valuable; less addictive and destructive. My complaint was that he rarely ‘counselled’ patients describing himself as a ‘drug’ psychiatrist. I encouraged many patients to find another doctor after some complained that he only ‘waved’ to them at the clinic (early in the morning and late at night). Dr Burrows often didn’t take the time to have a proper consultation. He appeared interested in drug effects, dosage etc.
I saw Burrows as a man with too many clients who believed there was a drug for everyone. He was interested in research and publishing papers. I also felt that his attitude towards women was misogynistic and domineering. It was as if he wanted to ‘shut up and numb’ women with anxiolytics, anti-depressants, sedatives and anti-psychotic medication.
Thanks for exploring this issue for the sake of those who have suffered in his ‘care’.
My beautiful mother was one of those patients at the Austin Hospital where Dr. Burrows never counselled her, yet determined that she did not have Parkinson’s Disease as we were told by a leading neurologist. His diagnosis was psychosomatic disorder. She was treated like a freak and degraded to such a point that she took her life later that year. Post mortem showed that she did indeed have Parkinson’s disease. It was a horrendous time for all of us and we live with the knowledge that we let her down by not questioning this so called leader in the profession. Depression is a well known symptom of Parkinson disease. I reported the case to the Medical Board 16 years ago but heard nothing more until now.